This invention relates to a multi-purpose container for storing and transporting items such as produce.
Plastic containers are often used for transporting produce, such as grapes, from the fields where they are grown to the markets where they are purchased. The containers must be both stackable, such that the walls of each container supports the weight of additional containers stacked on top of it, and nestable, such that the containers fit substantially one within the other to minimize the space occupied when not in use.
One such container, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,156 and commonly assigned, includes a pair of partial lids. Each partial lid is connected by a hinge to an upper edge of an end wall and movable between a support position and an open position. In the support position, the partial lid rests along the entire length of the upper edge of the end wall and is supported on a portion of the upper edge of both side walls. In order to reduce the space required adjacent the containers when in the nested, storage position, the lids extend only approximately ¼ of the length of the side walls, and thus when pivoted to the open position can hang downward close to the end wall of the container. While this container works well, Applicant has sought to further increase the load bearing capacity of the containers when stacked, further reduce the weight of the container and to further increase the stacking stability of the containers.